Google and Ford are coming together to form a joint venture that will focus on manufacturing of autonomous vehicles, according to a new report. The partnership between the companies will be announced at the upcoming CES event in January.

As per the report, the new company would be legally separate from Ford, so that there are no liability concerns for the automaker. Also, the deal between the two companies would be non-exclusive.

"We have been and will continue working with many companies and discussing a variety of subjects related to our Ford Smart Mobility plan," said a Ford spokesperson when asked to comment on the matter. Google, on the other hand, declined to comment.

This comes over a few months after automotive veteran John Krafcik became the first CEO of Google's self-driving car project. While at that time the Mountain View, California-based company clearly stated that the project is not becoming an independent company under Alphabet, recent reports have suggested the possibility of that happening in 2016.